Concert: DNCE & POWERS

On Wednesday November 18th, Toronto was graced with the presence of Joe Jonas' NEW band DNCE. Opening the night was Electric Pop / SOUL duo POWERS (more about the duo below).

DNCE was formed in the summer of 2015 and features guitarist JinJoo Lee in which met Jonas in 2009 while she played lead guitar for Jordin Sparks (opening act on the Jonas Brothers' 2009 World Tour). Bassist/Keyboardist Cole Whittle formerly known from his band Semi Precious Weapons and for being on Tour with Lady GaGa and Ke$ha and drummer Jack Lawless who is no stranger to Joe. Jack played drums with the Jonas Brothers for the first time in 2006 and soon became the full-time drummer for the band.

Joe Jonas had a plan to launch an offbeat pop project inspired by the melodic R&B of Earth, Wind & Fire and Hall & Oates.

Jonas says he has this vision for about five or six years but took some time to hit the reset button after his former group we all know so well (Jonas Brothers) parted ways back in 2013.

Almost as soon as they started playing together, DNCE had a palpable chemistry and easy camaraderie that they hope to carry over into their audience. “We really want this to feel like a party,” Jonas says. “We want everyone to feel like they’re in on this little world that we’ve created for ourselves.” (Asked to describe DNCE’s live show, he adds: “It’s like going to some club in Europe at 4 a.m. and everybody’s all sweaty and looks like they’re in the Village People. We’re all from different worlds, but we’re all here together.”) And though the band name has its own wacky origin — it’s the next best thing for “when you’re too drunk to spell ‘dance,’” says Jonas — there’s also a deeper meaning that’s got to do with the shedding of self-consciousness. “It’s incomplete, it’s imperfect, but it’s still all right,” says Lee of DNCE’s name and guiding philosophy. “You don’t have to be a great dancer to dance — you can dance however you want to, and still have so much fun. That’s really the beauty of this whole thing.”